Games
bring peace to the Land Of The RiSing Sun. Everything in Ring Of Red is paced perfectly; the FMV animations further the story. the inventive missions keep you playing and the combat relies on nerve- Shredding gambling. Each shot is tuned by a gradually increasing strength bar. giVing you the option to fire lots of weak shots or save up for one big blast. Game of Chicken anyone?
PC
SUBMARINE TITANS
(PAN Interactive) 229.99 CO.
It is strange how a few r0ugh edges can hinder the gaming experience. Submarine Titans for example. has all the ingredients of a cracking RTS game. Build up a base. build up a submerged fleet and take on the computer or up to 24 online players. The graphics are adequate. even beautiful at points. while the Al is admirable and there is more than enough exploration and development to fill many an evening's play. Yet. it all feels crudely stuck together. Some of the colours are not right. some of the animation is rough and it never quite hooks you in. With some play-tester applying the Mr Sheen treatment Submarine Titans could have been a winner. As it is. only the hardest of hardcore RTS gamers will stay long enough to sample its delights. (lain Davidson)
ALSO RELEASED
Gangsters 2 (PC Eidos €29.99) Own your very OWlT insurance company. Inspector Gadget (PSX Ubisoft $329.99) Go Go Gadget Game!
Dune Emperor (PC Electronic Arts $329.99) For all you Spice Girls and Boys.
Operation Flashpoint (PC Codemasters £29.99) Very impressive military mayhem. Hidden Invasion (PS2 Virgin $339.99) Beat-em- up in SD.
116 THE LIST 7—21 Jun 2001
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?
www.itv.co.uk/ millionaire
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With the runaway success of this show. it's hardly surprising that it has evolved into the computer game format. More surprisingly it has been launched in a playable format on the net. The guestions are actually taken from the show. so aVid fans might feel smug by remembering the answers from first time round. What is guile interesting is the wording that the game ‘does not yet offer a cash pri/e'. Watch this space.
SCOTLAND ONLINE www.scot|andonline. co.uk
One of the i,)remi(->re Scottish Internet portals. this is perfect for ‘Scots looking for somewhere to eat. drink. sleep or go'. Whether it be leisure or accommodation interest. this place Will help you out — from Munro walks. golf clubs to bars and restaurants.
VIRTUAL FESTIVALS www.virtualfestivals. com
We've featured this befOre. but this time of year is the perfect time for a site like this. Virtual Festivals is also a Vibrant on-line community for festival goers. music fans and clubbers. As well as an obvious forum for lively gossip. angst and banter. it has some very practical applications. For
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DELIA SMITH ONLINE!
www.deliaonline.com
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From the woman who ier‘ently taught us how to boil eggs. comes this on—line culinary archive with recipes ranging from boiled eggs to some fancy non egg related recipes. It's been a long time since Sid/(it) Shop.
VIRTUAL PUB www.bogwomen.com/ cam/webdocs/map/pu bframesetasp
If you're stuck inside. on-line. and if you can't gitét ()iit l() ill(} l)tll). ii)(}ll you can visit this Scottish e-pub. Keep an eye on the locals Via the webcam and volunteer to buy the drinks for the whole bar. Unfortunately they can't buy you one back, but at least you don't have to shell out for the two home.
TARA PALMER- TOMKINSON’S HOMEPAGE
www.tarapt.com
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Attention those With their fingers on sooety's pulse! This is the place to be with the world favourite 'it' girl. it reads like her own personal He//o magazine. But beware: yOur own eXistence Wlll seem comparatively dull after visiting here.
(Steve Blair)
Video/DVD
video@list.co.uk ‘DESTINEES SENTIMENTALES -. .‘ (12) 173 mins 0.. THE ART OF WAR
(18) 124 mins 00
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llellilAl AF-T'ES Elf CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (12) 120 mins .00..
3%
Still the best film of the year
It seems like only yesterday that I sat in a cinema and watched, mouth agape, a film that was either the greatest folly of East/West fusion cinema or 3 balls to the saddle kung fu art house masterpiece. That it won multiple Oscars and has become the most successful foreign language film ever released in the West might answer the question.
This was the newest work of a director whose work l viewed as either deeply precious (Sense And Sensibility) or cold, heartless peacockery (Ride With The Devil). Ang Lee is also one of the most arrogant men I had ever heard interviewed — he boasts of the torment he puts crews and actors through, and takes credit for everything from a 703 furnishings revival (via The Ice Storm) to the cinematic revisionism of Austen in the mid-90$. Lee’s very name filled me with the same sort of outrage I felt whenever Luc Besson smeared his worthless spermatozoa over some rank piece of celluloid.
So, boy was I surprised to find Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon simply wonderful - balletic, tough, funny, romantic. A simple story beautifully told, it was Powell and Pressberger’s Black Narcissus played with high kicks and broad swords. Set in 19th century China, the film interweaves love, revenge and feminism with a whole load of cod zen hokum. Yuen Wo Ping’s jaw-dropping choreography combined with Peter Pau’s cinematography has raised the standard of martial arts films immeasurably. The performances, from Asian superstar Chow Yun-Fat to newcomer Zhang Ziyi, are likewise dynamic. Lee, meanwhile, directs like a camp man at a homophobe’s wedding — forever teetering on the edge of giving the whole ludicrous game away. Silly and splendid. (Paul Dale) I Areal/(able reread," Conny", :: T" '..":' .4 if n '
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